The present invention relates to lottery devices, and more particularly to manually operated random selector devices that can draw a marked ball from a pool of such balls.
The use of mini-lottery devices to randomly select a few numbers from a pool of such numbers has recently become more important for some members of our societies. For some persons, this has become such an important facet of their lives that it is important for them to, for example, simulate the draw in advance and then make a personal use of the obtained results afterwards. Many different types of mini-lottery devices exist. Some for example pick numbers one after the other while some pick a series of number all at once.
Among the inventions picking numbers one after the other, indicia selector has been disclosed in the prior art in U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,335 issued on Jun. 16, 1981 to G. Allonsius. In this invention, the lower floor of the deposit chamber of the selector is at the same horizontal level than the lower floor of the individual ball receptacle when the device is upright and when the receptacle is lowered at the same level than the deposit chamber, this requires that an inconvenient manual movement be given to the selector to give an angle or a gradient to the lower floor of the individual ball receptacle to ensure that the ball moves in and remains in the deposit chamber of the selector. This is not advantageous since another manual movement must be approximately simultaneously given by means of a downward pressure on the individual ball receptacle.
Furthermore, the system of the trap door to return the balls inside the opaque chamber can bring problems since when the transparent chamber has been emptied, it is highly possible that when the unit is re-turned in its upright position, some balls will inadvertently re-enter the transparent chamber from the opaque chamber before the trap door is closed again, hence possibly necessitating to re-act the emptying maneuver a number of times before it is successfully done.
It should also be mentioned that if the ball receptacle is not spring loaded, the lower section of the ball receptacle could be left as an outer protuberance that could easily be forgotten into such a position, and be broken, irreparably damaging the device, if it would be put away while being in this improper position. Finally, if something goes wrong with the one way trap door system, such as if a blocking occurs, the entire device becomes obsolete when the purpose is to select more than one numbered ball.
To simulate the television draws as visually speaking realistically as possible, which can be of high importance to mini-abacus"" users, a device should visually replicate the display of the random selection from the abacuses with an inclined channel where the drawn numbers fall or slide into one after the other to be displayed with grand style. No prior art maximizes the procurement of such a visually speaking realistic re-enactment of the television lottery draws.
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide a manually operated random selector device of the character described which obviates the above noted disadvantages.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a manually operated random selector device that visually replicates a television lottery draw""s display of the results.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a manually operated random selector device that randomly selects one after the other a marked ball from a hidden pool of marked balls and displays the resulting series.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a manually operated random selector device that is light, easily operated and carried, and that can be used a plurality number of times.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a manually operated random selector device that requires a minimum number of actions and movements for its use.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a manually operated random selector device that is after use easily and efficiently put back into an operative mode.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a manually operated random selector device that is compact, resistant, ergonomic, and easily manufacturable.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a manually operated random selector device that offers the possibility of changing the quantity of marked balls to simulate different lottery games.
The present invention consists of a random lottery device comprising a main body including:
a first chamber freely containing a plurality differently marked balls of similar size and having a lateral opening allowing for only one of said marked balls to pass therethrough at a time;
a bar axially movable between a first and a second limit positions; and
a second chamber with transparent walls and opened at one end and adapted to receive a row of a predetermined number of said marked balls, said bar being adjacently located in between both said chambers and including a through hole forming a cavity sized to receive only one of said marked balls and having a first extremity aligned with said lateral opening and a second extremity closed when said bar is in said first position, and having said first extremity closed and said second extremity aligned with said one end of said second chamber when said bar is in said second position; thereby said cavity being capable of capturing one of said marked balls at a time from said first chamber, displacing it and dropping it into said second opening.
Preferably, the random lottery device further comprises a biasing member biasing said bar into said first limit position.
Preferably, the second chamber is sized to receive at least seven of said marked balls side by side.
Preferably, the main body further includes a reservoir chamber adapted to contain a plurality of additional differently marked balls and having a first access door plug member to insert or retrieve said marked and/or additional marked balls therefrom, said first chamber also including a second access door plug member to insert or retrieve said marked and/or additional marked balls therefrom.
Preferably, the transparent walls of said second chamber are slightly convex to act as magnifying glass thereby enhancing visual reading of markings on said marked balls.
Preferably, the bar always remains within a generally rectangular perimeter defined by said main body when at or between said first and second limit positions.
Alternatively, the second chamber includes a plurality of adjacent channels each adapted to receive a row of a predetermined number of said marked balls and a channel selection member, each of said channels being connected at one opened extremity to said one end opening of said second chamber via said channel selection member, the latter leaving access for said marked ball captured into said cavity to enter a selected of said channel at a time while closing the access to the other of said channels.
Preferably, the second chamber includes two of said channels and said channel selection member includes a door rotatably mounted onto said main body in proximity to said one end of said second chamber to close the one opened extremity of either one of the two channels for rotation between two extreme positions corresponding to both closing of a respective channel, and a door knob coaxially secured to said door to enable rotation of the latter.
Preferably, the channel selection member further includes latch members to releasably latch said door in respective said two extreme positions.
Preferably, each of said channels is sized to receive at least ten of said marked balls side by side.